I inherited a substantial collection which was too much for me to handle piecemeal on eBay. I started to inventory and catalog everything but it was overwhelming, so I enlisted the help of an auction house which specializes in collectables. Two large national houses are Heritage Auctions and Stack's Bowers. Stack's offered to inventory and appraise the coins, which was required for the estate. The coins were mostly sold at auction after the director decided which coins to have graded and encapsulated. Valuable coins were auctioned individually and others were grouped by type. I feel that I got a fair value for the collection, but not retail prices. The service and guidance were fantastic. I can pm you contact info if you'd like. An important tip: do not handle the coins with bare hands, and never attempt to clean or polish them or they may lose significant value.
This string is timely as I am faced with a similar dilemma. Not sure what is considered substantial, but my sisters and I have inherited my dad's collection and the task of cataloging every coin or set seems overwhelming so I am also looking for advice. More specifically, I count over 100 various US proof sets, probably 500 + pre-1965 silver 1/2 dollars, quarters, dimes, and then maybe 50 various foreign coins. I supposes we need to take the time to understand what we have in case there is a real find in the bunch, but don't think I have the patience to eBay them 1 at a time. Perhaps the auction house is my best route or maybe grouping all the proof sets in 1 bunch and all the silver coins in a 2nd bunch on eBay is a better solution?? Either way, I suppose I need to figure out what we have. Any specific recommendations based on what I have here?